


Like or Alike in Value

by blehgah



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, but no drunkenness, kind of comes part and parcel with the whole bar thing, some stream of consciousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 17:22:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6088105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blehgah/pseuds/blehgah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Chesedonia, the night before the party goes to Eldrant, Guy visits the bar to have a chat with Jade.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like or Alike in Value

Jade doesn't drink to get drunk, not really; in his line of work, ruining his control over his basic motor functions is synonymous with threatening his life. That isn't to say he doesn't threaten his life on a daily basis, but the chances of his enemies being at a level that genuinely concerns him are generally low.

Besides, as of late, he's been working with a party, and even he isn't arrogant enough to deny that there is strength in numbers.

No, Jade drinks for the buzz. Sometimes, if he's graced by a good bartender, he drinks for the taste. A slight buzz brings warmth back to his gloved fingers and plays with the spark in his chest at a level he can regulate.

Tonight, Jade drinks to distract himself. There are too many things to think about at once: whether or not Noelle can really fly them to Eldrant safely; the chances of surviving an assault from all the God-Generals at once; the chances of Luke surviving a showdown with Asch; how Natalia will react when Asch ultimately loses; how Tear will react when Lorelei's release into the fon belt will finally tear Luke's fonons apart; how Tear will react when Lorelei's release will kill Van; how _Luke_ will react when they kill Van; what to do about the replicas once Van is taken care of; the capacity for refugees in Grand Chokmah; the danger levels of investigating the Isle of—

Jade's thoughts are interrupted when a familiar fonon frequency takes a seat next to him. It doesn't take Jade much time to identify the being as Guy.

"Have you put the kids to bed?" Jade asks without looking up.

Guy chuckles. "As you can guess, Tear and Luke have been whisked away to places unknown. I'm actually a little surprised Noelle was the one who instigated the whole thing; she seemed a bit smitten with Luke."

"Perhaps 'smitten' isn't the word to use in this case," Jade replies. "It's possible she was simply struck by the urge to protect Luke, the one we've all fallen victim to."

"Don't act like you don't enjoy it."

"Are you implying I enjoy baby-sitting the lot of you?" Jade lifts his glass to his mouth and takes a sip. Finally, he turns to look at Guy.

The dim, fluorescent lighting above the bar doesn't do Guy many favours; it washes out his blond hair and his tanned skin while highlighting the bags under his eyes. Jade can pick out three different healing bruises around his chest and collarbone within seconds.

Still, Guy manages to flash Jade a bright smile when he feels Jade's gaze on him. He gestures with a newly acquired beer.

"If you were really sick of it, you'd have left by now," Guy points out.

With a shrug, Jade says, "My strong sense of responsibility outweighs my distaste for your company, I'm afraid."

Huffing a breath, Guy pouts for a fleeting moment. "Boo," he jeers, a weak imitation of Jade's previous visitor. "Four out of ten. I know you've got better comebacks than that, Jade."

"Maybe the alcohol's getting to me."

"Come on, that's an even weaker excuse. Knowing you, I bet you've been on that one drink for hours. As if you, Jade Curtiss, Colonel of the Third Division of the Malkuth military, would allow yourself to get drunk."

"A bit of memorization won't impress me," Jade comments with a slight smirk. "Though I suppose my rank does matter more to you now that you've officially rejoined the Malkuth population, Gailardia Galan Gardios."

Humming, Guy mouths the top of his beer bottle. It takes little effort for Jade to track the movement closely.

"It's weird to hear you say it," Guy admits. His words vibrate through the glass in his hands. "Though it was worse when you first pulled it out."

"It's slightly more natural out of His Majesty's mouth, I suppose."

Guy shrugs, wearing a wry smile. "I guess. Even if he doesn't exactly have that _air of royalty_ about him."

Jade gives Guy a sideways look over the rim of his glasses. "I'm not sure I should stand your badmouthing my glorious leader."

" _Our_ glorious leader now." A twisted grin stretches Guy's lips. "Or is he really _your_ glorious leader? You do make a cute pet."

Biting back a scowl, Jade sets his glass down with a little more force than necessary. "What's next? Are you going to tell me that I'm exceptionally obedient? That my crap isn't as much of a nuisance to clean up compared to Luke's?"

Guy barks a laugh before taking a long swig of his beer. When he replaces the bottle on the bar, he looks up at Jade with a glint in his eye. "Don't start talking about Luke's shit or you'll hit a little too close to home."

Jade lifts his eyebrows. "It's starting to sound like you're not talking about rappigs anymore and that concerns me."

Guy lowers his gaze again to play with his drink. He passes it between both hands at an idle pace. "Replicas... They're—They're not exactly made to fit perfectly into this world, are they? At least in a way we can expect. Or is predict a better word in this case?"

"Either way, there's not much you can say that I haven't already heard."

It comes out more strained than Jade would like. He covers up a sigh by finishing his drink. The bartender floats by, and Jade gestures for another. It might be a little more than he should have, but if worse comes to worse, he'll ask Tear for some assistance.

"Alright, alright. But if you change your mind, there's a whole album full of pictures from when Luke was younger waiting for you in Baticul. Lady Fabre wasn't ready to let him go for a second."

"I might entertain the idea if I have the time to," Jade says. His tone is soft, low, warmed by the alcohol and the subject matter; he's nowhere near sincere seeing as he is not the least bit interested in seeing Luke as a child (okay, maybe a _tiny_ bit interested, but only for scientific purposes) but at the same time, Jade isn't sure he wants to tread this water the night before things reach their end.

 _Reach their end_. A phrase that's bounced countless times through Jade's head, a sentiment that means nothing and everything at the same time.

Jade takes a sip of his drink.

"...Yeah. You're right." Guy downs the rest of his beer and calls over the bartender. "Hey," he says, jerking a thumb in Jade's direction, "I'll have some of what he's having."

The bartender murmurs his reply and shuffles off to fill a glass with amber liquid. When the drink is seated safely in Guy's hand, he lifts it towards Jade.

"Let's make a toast," Guy suggests, "to our imminent victory."

"What's that phrase again? Fake it until you make it?" Jade replies, though he brings his glass near Guy's.

"This confidence is one hundred percent genuine, Colonel," Guy retorts. _Colonel_ curls around Guy's tongue, plays along Guy's lips and settles somewhere in Jade's hot blood. "With you on my side, how could it not be?"

"Flatterer," Jade mutters with a half-grin. "I'd much rather make a toast to something more concrete—something we can safely say we've accomplished."

Guy hums his agreement. "The list isn't as long as I'd like it to be, but you've got some degree of choice here." Guy's smile loses an edge of its smugness. Nonetheless, Jade has the faint urge to knock it off Guy's face, but he hasn't decided _how_ he'd like to accomplish that just yet.

"Then how about this—let's make a toast to making it this far. Despite the multitude of sacrifices made, affairs like ours can never be clean of blood. We've worked hard to compensate for unexpected problems, and I think it's safe to say we've come a long way." Jade inclines his hand towards Guy's. "Regardless of what happens tomorrow, we should be proud of what's led to this very moment."

The slant of Guy's mouth captures Jade's attention for a few seconds longer than necessary. His smile is tired and amused, an expression Jade has worn time and time again, but on Guy it looks... almost foreign. But he wears it well; the honesty of his countenance is a heavy weight in Jade's gut. His exhaustion, his vulnerability, is certainly something Jade can empathize with, but something he'd never dare to display so openly.

"That's not quite as joyous as I would've liked, but you're not wrong," Guy says with a slight laugh. "It's been one hell of a ride."

Guy catches Jade's eyes over the rim of his glasses. Suddenly, Jade's mouth dries up and he finds himself yearning to bring his drink to his lips as soon as possible.

"Here's to us," Guy adds in a low voice.

The sharp and curt _clink_ of their glasses echoes in Jade's ears as he downs his drink in one go. As the liquid burns his throat, Guy holds his gaze and mimics his movements. Warmth pools in Jade's stomach and sinks a little lower for each moment he remains under Guy's scrutiny.

"Damn," Guy coughs as he sets his glass down, "you sure don't mess around, do you?"

"I've said this before, and I'll say it again." Jade's mouth twists with his smile. "I'm always serious."

"We could die tomorrow." Despite his grave words, Guy maintains a mischievous lilt to his tone. "Don't you think that calls for a break from seriousness?"

"Guy, in my line of work, there are plenty of opportunities for death to come. It's one of the reasons why I'm so persistent on being serious." Jade runs a gloved finger over the rim of his glass without breaking eye contact with Guy. "But, in all honesty, I never thought you'd be the type to... beat around the bush so much about this type of thing."

"I try my best to be a gentleman, Colonel."

There it is again. _Colonel_. Although Guy doesn't usually refer to Jade by his rank, seeing as Guy isn't a soldier, that's not what makes Jade's blood simmer in his veins; it's the way Guy says it, the way he wraps his lips around it like a lollipop, like candy, something he'd like to taste and savour in the depths of his mouth. It's casual and carefree, and usually people are so cautious around him, around _Jade the Necromancer_ , Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Third Division. All that does is reinforce the idea of distance, the idea that Jade is untouchable, undesirable—

But if there's one thing that Guy has made clear tonight, it's that Jade is far from _unwanted_. It's something of a novelty to Jade—while he's not short of admirers, never has he received this sort of attention from someone he's deemed an equal.

And that's what separates Guy from the others. Jade can consider Guy an equal. While Jade would entrust his life to anyone in their party, and consistently does so every time they engage in battle, life outside the battlefield is different.

The degrees of difference are slight, seeing as Jade is a military man and war _is_ his life, but that only makes them more compatible; Guy has seen war, has seen violence, in various forms.

"You've certainly made that clear," Jade reponds. "Might you even say you've been trying to impress me with your chivalrous nature?"

"Impress you, yes. With my 'chivalrous nature'...?" Guy chuckles. "Not exactly."

"I suppose that simply comes natural to you, doesn't it."

"Now you're the flatterer," Guy teases. "Not to mention you're starting to beat around the bush now, too."

Jade lowers his gaze and puts a hand to his chest. "I'm afraid you'll have to excuse my demure disposition, Guy. I'm not used to this sort of attention."

Guy snorts. "Now you're really pulling my leg. Come on." Guy stands up and sets a few bills on the bar. Wearing a smile—one Jade might dare to call _dazzling_ or _charming_ if he were partial to flowery prose such as that—Guy extends a hand in Jade's direction. "Let's get out of here."

Jade adjusts the gloves around his arms before taking the offered hand. "Good. I was afraid I'd die of old age before we finally got around to this part."

"There's still life in you yet, Jade." With gentle hands, Guy guides Jade's grip to the crook of his arm and begins to steer Jade to the door. "And I think I'll have some fun proving the truth in that."

Charm like Guy's doesn't persuade Jade—he's not a man easily coaxed into situations like these. But it's becoming more and more apparent that Guy's charm has layers, layers that Jade finds pleasure in peeling away. Guy's charm affects the tones his breath takes as it rattles in his throat, hoarse and desperate. Guy's charm is scattered in the wetness of his mouth, in the tips of his fingers that leave bruises on Jade's pale skin. Guy's charm tastes like milk and honey and sounds heavy in Jade's ear, his shallow exhales damp against Jade's neck.

Sure, Jade might not be the type to indulge himself, especially not in physical pleasures such as these, but he's starting to learn that it's not always worth putting up a fight—not against a weapon like Guy's mouth, multifaceted and multitalented in taking Jade's breath away in more ways than one.


End file.
